Conventionally, a vending machine or the like installs therein a coin processing device that discriminates whether inserted coins are genuine or not, sorts and stores, for each denomination, inserted coins that have been determined as genuine coins, and further delivers the coins that have been sorted and stored, in response to an amount of change or the like. The coin processing device comprises a coin sorting device for discriminating whether inserted coins are genuine and distributing the inserted coins into denominations, and a coin delivering device for storing, for each denomination, the inserted coins that have been distributed by the coin sorting device, selecting and delivering coins from among the stored coins in response to an amount of change or the like (e.g., Patent Literature 1).
A structure of a conventional coin delivering device will be described below with reference to FIGS. 13 and 14. FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the conventional coin delivering device. FIG. 13 shows a standby mode before delivery of coins is performed, and coin tubes 106 shown in FIG. 14 is omitted. FIG. 14 shows sectional views of a main portion of the conventional coin delivering device, a part (a) of FIG. 14 shows a state of the standby mode, a part (b) of FIG. 14 shows a state where delivering operation of coins is performed in a delivery mode, and a part (c) of FIG. 14 shows a state where delivering operation of coins is prevented in the delivery mode. It should be noted that, as shown in parts (b) and (c) of FIG. 14, the delivery mode herein refers to a state where coin-holding holes M of a payout slide 108 moves to a position out of an upper side of a coin base 107 during a reciprocation operation of the payout slide 108 as described later.
As shown in FIG. 13, the conventional coin delivering device 103 includes: a driving unit such as a motor that is not illustrated in the figure; a payout cam 110 that performs one rotation in one direction (a direction of arrow A) every one time of deliverying operation by driving force of the driving unit; a payout link 109 that includes a groove 109a engaging with a pin 110a disposed on a lower surface of the payout cam 110 so as to protrude and that reciprocates in a direction of arrow B from an initial position in the figure when the payout cam 110 performs one rotation; and a payout slide 108 that reciprocates in the direction of arrow B in response to a reciprocating motion of the payout link 109. Further, a plurality of coin-holding holes M are formed in the payout slide 108 in correspondence relation to a plurality of coin tubes 106 (namely, a coin storage section), and each of the coin-holding holes M is adapted to hold the periphery of each coin stored at each of lowest surfaces of the plurality of coin tubes 106. Further, a coin base 107 is disposed below the payout slides 108 so as to support bottoms of stored coins in the standby mode as shown in FIG. 14(a).
Meanwhile, in correspondence relation to the kinds of the plurality of coin tubes 106, a plurality of change slides 111 are inserted into the payout link 109 so as to be freely pulled out therefrom and inserted therein. Each distal end of the change slides 111 positions below each of the coin holdng holes M of the payout slides 108 so that the change slides 111 perform to switch between delivery and non-delivery of coins each contained in each of the coin holdng holes M. While the change slides 111 operate and move in response to motion of the payout link 109, the change slides 111 do not respond to the payout link 109 when movements of the change slides 111 are regulated.
Each of change levers 112 that moves in an upper and lower direction by the driving unit is disposed at a rear portion of each of the change slides 111. The change lever 112 is attached to a distal end of a plunger of a solenoid 113 for a corresponding one of change levers 112. The plunger of the solenoid 113 is energized by a return spring in a protruding direction. The plunger is retracted in a direction opposite to the protruding direction by energization to the solenoid 113, and returns back to an original position by biasing force of the return spring when the energization to the solenoid 113 halts. Therefore, when the energization to the solenoid 113 has halted, the change lever 112 has a downward delivery preventing position due to biasing force of the return spring and engages with a rear end of the change slide 111 so as to regulate a movement of the change slide 111. When the energization to the solenoid 113 is carried out, the change lever 112 moves upward and takes a delivery allowable position. As a result, the engagement with the rear end of the change slide 111 is released and the movement of the change slide 111 is not regulated. A mechanism including the change slide 111, the change lever 112 and the solenoid 113 is provided in correspondence relation to each of the coin-holding holes M one-to-one, and each mechanism individually operates.
In a state where the rear end of the change slide 111 does not abut against the change lever 112 corresponding thereto, as illustrated in FIG. 14(b), the change slide 111 reciprocates in response to the reciprocations of the payout link 109 and the payout slide 108 to open a lower portion of the corresponding coin-holding hole M. On the other hand, in a state where the rear end of the change slide 111 abuts against the change lever 112 corresponding thereto, as illustrated in FIG. 14(c), the change slide 111 does not reciprocate in response to the reciprocations of the payout link 109 and the payout slide 108 to maintain the position in the satndby mode (see FIG. 14(a)).
With this arrangement, the conventional coin delivering device 103 operates as follows. First, operation of the change lever 112 and the change slide 111 will be described here. Energization is performed to only one of the solenoids 113 corresponding to one of coin-holding holes M for a coin to be delivered so as to move a corresponding one of change levers 112 upward (switching operation). Therefore, abutment of the change slide 111 against the change lever 112 is released so that the change slide 111 corresponding to the coin-holding hole M for the coin to be delivered can reciprocate in response to a reciprocation of the payout slide 108. On the other hand, the remaining solenoids 113 corresponding to the remaining coin-holding holes M for coins not to be delivered are not energized. Thus, abutment of the remaining change slides 111 against the remaining change levers 112 are not released so that movement of the remaining change slides 111 corresponding to the remaining coin-holding holes M for coins not to be delivered are regulated.
Next, operation of the payout link 109 and the payout slide 108 will be described here. Once a payout cam 110 performs one rotation in the direction of arrow A by a drive of the driving unit such as a motor not illustrated, then the payout link 109 and the payout slide 108 reciprocate in the direction of arrow B. Here, individual coins contained in the respective coin-holding holes M of the payout slide 108 also slide along with the payout slide 108.
In a case where a coin should be delivered at that time, as shown in FIG. 14(b), the change lever 112 corresponding to the coin to be delivered has moved to a position where the change slide 111 does not abut against the change lever 112. Thus, because the change slide 111 slidly moves backward in response to the movement of the payout link 109 and the payout slide 108, the lower portion of the coin-holding hole M is to be opened. In this case, a coin having been held in the coin-holding hole M is lost a lower support, then falls down and is delivered accordingly. On the other hand, in a case where a coin should not be delivered, as shown in FIG. 14(c), the change lever 112 corresponding to the coin not to be delivered has moved to a position where the change slide 111 abuts against the change lever 112. Thus, because the change slide 111 does not move in response to the movement of the payout link 109 and the payout slide 108, the lower portion of the coin-holding hole M is to be supported by the change slide 111. In this case, because a coin having been held in the coin-holding hole M is still supported by the change slide 111, the coin does not fall down and is not delivered accordingly.
With such an arrangement as the aforementioned coin delivering device having the plurality of coin tubes 106 and the payout slide 108 therebelow which has the coin-holding holes M for a plurality of denominations, it is possible, in principle, to deliver coins of the plurality of denominations by a single reciprocation of the payout slide 108 simultaneously. Namely, in the example of FIG. 13, five coin-holding holes M are provided in the payout slide 108 and a total of five coin tubes 106 are provided in corressponding relation to the coin-holding holes M. Thus, in order to selectively deliver a coin or coins from the plurality of coin tubes 106, it is configured so that, while the payout slide 108 is driven by single drive means (namely, drive means associated with the payout cam 110) commonly, the change slides 111 which are individually provided in association with the coin tubes 106 are controlled by the change levers 112 respectively to thereby select one or more coin tubes 106 (namely, denominations) to be used for delivering the coin or coins. It should be noted that there is a known coin delivering device which is configured to mechanically support a delivery operation in order to supplement a shortage of electrical power. Thus, this realizes to deliver more denominations of coins simultaneously.
Normally, a thickness of the coin-holding hole M formed in the payout slide 108 is to be equivalent to a thickness of one coin for each denomination. In such a case, it is merely possible to deliver one coin for each denomination. In view of this point, it is known such a coin delivering device which has a payout slide 108 having a coin-holding hole M with a thickness equivalent to a thickness of two coins of a desired denomination (coin tube 106) to thereby enable to deliver two coins of the desired denomination simultaneously.
However, such an arrangement that the thickness of the coin-holding hole M corresponding to the desired denomination (coin tube 106) is equivalent to the thickness of two coins of the desired denomination becomes a device dedicated to deliver two coins, which performs to merely select as to whether two coins should be delivered or not. For this reason, in order to be able to select in such a manner that any one of one and two coins for a desired denomination should be delivered at a time, it is necessary for such a known coin delivering device to provide with separate coin tubes 106, for the desired denomination, dedicated to one-coin delivery and double-coin-delivery respectively.